The Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans officially kicked off the trade market with a gigantic trade that seemingly came out of nowhere. There were rumors leading up to this one, but nobody expected the involvement of Jonas Valanciunas and Steven Adams, two bigs who have a very similar playstyle.
Here’s what the trade looked like.
The trade involved Memphis moving up in both rounds of the 2021 NBA Draft, while the Pelicans receive some relief financially. Now, the Grizzlies will be able to draft a better player for their future while the Pelicans will be able to make the signings they want.
That said, this has deep implications for both teams. Today, I’ll be going over every implication aligned with this trade for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Implication No. 1: The Memphis Grizzlies have an interesting situation on their hands regarding Eric Bledsoe
The obvious decision in regards to Eric Bledsoe would be to eat the $3.9 million that is guaranteed on his contract and move on. That said, Bledsoe’s value isn’t totally down the drain. At the age of 31, he’s not the player he used to be, but there are teams out there that may be interested in him as an experienced guard.
Because of this, Memphis should look into potentially trading him, or at least attempting to trade him. Worst case, the Grizzlies just paid $3.9 million to move up to the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.